


Keep Moving

by tomatopotato



Category: The Stanley Parable
Genre: Gen, Zending, alternate ending?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-09-01 20:54:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8637694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopotato/pseuds/tomatopotato
Summary: They needed a break, Stanley decided, and so he chose what path to take.





	

The Office reformed before Stanley's eyes, same as it'd always been. He'd pushed his Narrator to the limit, as of late, testing how many unhappy endings he could possibly get in a row.

It was quite draining, to be honest.

And that was how he started this particular reset, with barely the energy to keep going. It seemed the other felt the same, the default lines spoken without any of the enthusiasm that usually kept the Narrator going.

They needed a break, Stanley decided, and so he chose what path to take: Right door, onto the crane, fall below, take the red door. He knew it by heart, like every ending the Office contained, and the whole way, he ignored the huffs and irritated comments of his guide. It was hard to do, but.. one of them had to extend a peaceful hand for anything to get better, right?

Into the mock planetarium he walked, not surprised to hear nothing from the other. Too many times had Stanley sat down for a minute, enough to allow the guide a sense of false security, and then dashed to end it all too quickly. All out of spite for keeping him here.

That wasn't his plan, now, but of course, the Narrator couldn't know that, even if he outright told him. Idiot would be more surprised that he was talking.

Stanley simply laid down, watching the lights swirl around the room. Even after all this time, it had the same effect on him, almost hypnotizing. He knew why his Narrator loved it so much, it was bliss in such a pure form. 

He sat there for a while, unsure of how much time had passed. It didn't truly matter within the Office's limits, anyway, and Stanley felt his mind wandering as he stayed there, putting him in an almost asleep state. 

It was too bad the poor man was awoken suddenly by his guide, who'd finally found his voice,

 _"..Stanley? Are you alright?"_ He sounded almost timid, afraid to break the silence. Unfortunately, it was still enough to make Stanley jump, snapping his mind back to reality. He looked up, confused. He'd barely made out what had actually been asked.

 _"Are you alright? You've never stayed here this long.."_ He really did sound concerned. How long had it been since he'd cared like that? 

Stanley nodded, a smile crossing his face. 

 _"..thank you.. I need to apologize, Stanley. I've been awfully harsh on you lately, haven't I?"_ He sighed,  _"..Thank you for the break. Do you think you're ready to keep going?"_

He was surprised by this question, to say the least. His Narrator never asked if they were ready to leave, never asked to leave this room especially. It hit him, then, that perhaps he wanted to avoid the end that this path usually took.

Stanley took a breath, stood up, and gave a thumbs up to the ceiling.

_"Alright. Let's keep moving, then. Maybe we'll finally find something new in this old office of ours."_

And everything went white once again, setting the stage for another story to be told.

A story that both Stanley and the Narrator felt would be more hopeful, now, with the newfound energy they'd gained.

A story they'd finally get right, and both be happy in.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Ao3!  
> This is the first anything I've ever posted anywhere, so.. apologies for bad everythings.  
> I love TSP, I love the Zending, but I don't love how it has to end. I thought it'd nice to just make it a little happier. It's therapeutic to write these kinds of things, anyways.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
